Customer support is perhaps the most important factor for any organisation that relies on third-party software to run its day-to-day operations. And while open source software has many virtues, its unrivalled level of support is where it really shines – supported by a community of thousands of amateurs, professionals and hobbyists.

It’s no secret that organisations have been slow to warm up to the idea of cloud – and with good reason. Where digital data security was once as simple and straightforward as ring-fencing a network perimeter with a single physical gateway to control access, the cloud has changed everything.

Whether they improve your employees’ ability to do their job, extend your reach, enable new business services or enhance customer experience, apps offer an efficient, cost-effective method for driving business outcomes, or at least they should.

Veeam® Software, the innovative provider of solutions that deliver Availability for the Always-On Enterprise™, has introduced an advanced course for system engineers, Veeam Certified Engineer (Advanced: Design and Optimisation V1), with Johannesburg-engineer, Johan Grové of Aptronics becoming the first Veeam Certified Architect in South Africa.

With several South African companies affected, including top-tier organisations such as Telkom, the recent global panic around the WannaCry ransomware attack has opened many South Africans’ eyes to the very real risks of global cybercrime on businesses anywhere, anytime, and of any size.

There is very little hesitation in the minds of South Africans that our economy is under huge pressure. You just need to look at the news headlines to see it. With the rand weakening and interest rates on the rise, businesses around the country are being left in a precarious position when it comes to their spending habits and budget planning.

Cryptocurrency may be in its infancy, but like the internet – the technology used to manage and distribute it – its adoption has been far reaching and its implications are enormous. Today, business could not survive without the internet, and in the future, I can’t imagine a business not engaging with cryptocurrency, or one of its underlying technologies at least: Blockchain.